


A leaky castle across the sea

by SilverCherie



Category: Black Panther (2018)
Genre: Cousin Incest, Erik has Issues, F/M, One Shot, i love erik killmonger too much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 07:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15068294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverCherie/pseuds/SilverCherie
Summary: “But you, you foolish girl, you have gone home To a leaky castle across the sea,- To lie awake in linen smelling of lavender, And hear the nightingale, and long for me.”— Short Story, Edna St. Vincent Millay





	A leaky castle across the sea

**Author's Note:**

> Cherie back with an erik/shuri one shot that no one asked for but I still wrote anyways. * shrugs * Thank you of course to Silver for being my constant support, rock and everything when it comes to writing. And life too. <33
> 
> If this isn't your cup of tea, you aren't obligated to read it :)

He is 10 when she is born.

Of course he knows before the rest of the world; his father left a journal riddled with the secrets and sins of the royal family as well as detailed instructions on how to keep an eye on them all. It becomes his peephole to see their dark side and what other horrors they hide from the world.  
  
Erik takes no time at all to absorb it. It becomes his life mission to know all there is. His murderous uncle, his foolish soft hearted cousin, and of course, the queen mother.   
  
But the arrival of the princess is unanticipated. Through hacking their surveillance systems, he sees his baby cousin, small and innocent. He sees her tiny hands reach out to her brother from her mother’s arms, her curiosity insatiable. Erik zooms in to get a closer look at this tiny creature. Even after she’s left alone in her room, her big eyes roam, trying to make sense of the world around her. And for a second, as impossible as it seems, her eyes stare back. As if she could see him. Studying him.   
  
Erik quickly turns off the monitor and turns away. His heart races as he tries to make sense of what happened.   
  
Did she see him?   
  
He begins to shuffle through his father’s notes, trying to find any inkling on whether the surveillance system is a two way street.   
  
Erik stops and curses at himself.   
  
_She’s a fucking baby._   
  
A tiny, useless little creature that could not see him, let alone expose his existence to her family.   
  
One coincidental meeting of eyes means nothing.   
  
And yet, for something that means absolutely nothing; he cannot help but feel like he’s being watched. 

* * *

  
He is 19 when she is 9.   
  
And as much as he hates to admit it, she is so much more than a tiny little thing who can now walk and talk.   
  
She breaks the world down around her until she understands. She masters it all—math, science but most important of all, vibranium.   
  
Now, she bends it to her will.   
  
Sonic stabilizers to control the chaotic properties of vibranium when its it's being carried out at a higher velocity.   
  
Even when her father and elders react with skepticism, Erik listens in with interest.   
  
She argues her case with confidence and surety until T’chaka concedes. They give her the chance to prove her theory.   
  
Erik can't help but feel pride when he sees her smile beam through the monitor.   
  
And another small part of him wonders what it would be like to know her. She is, despite all outward appearances, not the same as her brother.   
  
She loves her people as would any other Wakandan, but her loyalty and trust is with science.   
  
The stabilizers are proof of her allegiance.

* * *

  
She is 13 when he is 23.   
  
He realizes that he is spoiled for anyone else, even in MIT.   
  
Despite being surrounded by the so called best and the brightest, he quickly realizes that his classmates and professors lack the imagination to think beyond the properties of vibranium.   
  
He wastes hours listening to the hollow praise for the design and technology that power Captain America's shield and Stark Industries and then goes back to his apartment to see the princess continue to achieve the impossible.   
  
It is his dirty little secret; he is aware there is no one like her and never will be.   
  
In just a few years, she transforms her country in her image. Her brother may be the next in line to rule Wakanda, but Erik knows that the nation will always be at her mercy.   
  
But will anyone know? That at her core, beneath her wonder, her cheeriness and her brilliance—there is a thirst that is neatly kept under wraps and away from her family.   
  
Even from herself, she tries to hide it.   
  
But Erik witnesses it on several occasions. As she basks in the glory of bringing another one of her weapon designs to life like Frankenstein with his monster. For a moment, her eyes darken at the _possibilities_ of the power she holds in her hands (and how easy it would be to keep it for herself).   
  
And it’s in those moments, it’s as if he’s looking in a mirror.   
  
_(“In my cousin, I find a second self”)_   
  
In those moments, he truly smiles.   


* * *

  
  
She is 18 when he finally meets her in person.   
  
He knows that the circumstances of their first encounter would have never been anywhere close to cordial, but in the darkest and secluded part of his heart, he wishes that wasn’t the case.   
  
But there she is, boldly taking a step forward, the only one willing to address him.   
  
“You’re Erik Stevens. An American black operative, A mercenary named Killmonger. That’s who you are.”   
  
His response is immediate. He knows her inside out and what gets under her skin.   
  
“That’s not my name, princess.”   
  
Her affronted expression almost makes it worth walking away from this-- from his challenge, from his purpose. He knows that she hates being wrong more than anything—and if he disappears now, his memory is forever etched in her mind until she can piece him together. The temptation to have her fixate on him as he’s done all her life is almost enough.   
  
_Almost._   
  
He can’t deny his regret of his earlier choice when she disappears after he is crowned as the new ruler of Wakanda.   
  
The queen mother is of no use to him, but Shuri? She is his reflection.   
  
He pushes past it, focusing on his true mission—enable Wakandan wardogs to overthrow world leaders. But the determination to bring her to his side as his equal burns in the back of his mind.   
  
_First, take over the world. Second, offer it as a gift to his princess. Maybe that will be enough to entice her._   
  
He drifts off to sleep with the image of the world burning around them.

* * *

   
_Sometimes,_ he thinks, _old kings just don’t stay dead._   
  
T’challa is still alive and challenges him, but his focus is only on his mission. Even as the Dora turn against him, he does not care as he blasts them a hundred feet away from them.   
  
But then he sees her. _Angry and armed._   
  
And he can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips whenever he is in her presence. In his own twisted way, she is the inspiration. The only other who knows of the fascination of power and is just as seduced by it’s destruction as he is.   
  
But as he towers over her with a spear in hand, she ruins his dream with the venom of reality.   
  
“You’ll never be a true king.”   
  
He frowns. He expects her defiance but not her rejection. Even as she’s backed into a corner, she is not swayed.

_It’s a shame he has to kill her._

But an equal who opposes is never a good sign—just a threat.   
  
And as he tumbles down the mines exchanging blows with T’challa, his mind flashes back to his princess—from the wide-eyed baby to a willful teenager to the fierce woman who brought him to his knees a few moments ago. And all those times, he’s watched and fixated from the holes of her castle, capturing her darkest moments with his mind.   
  
And he smiles.   
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The quote " In my cousin, I find a second self." is credited to Isabel Norton. 
> 
> As always reviews and feedback are always appreciated!


End file.
